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Today’s Gen Xers and Millenials have grown up playing video games and using technology. With the growing reliance on smartphones, people are constantly connected. Knowing this, I wanted to find ways to help adult learners practice important education skills in a fun, convenient way. Here are five mobile games and apps that I think can be used for this purpose.

SLIDE is a multiplayer numbers game where you must achieve targeted numbers in anywhere from two to five steps using a board that is preset with numbers and math applications (addition, subtraction, and multiplication). The game helps train your mind's swiftness, as wells your logic and analytical skills.

Every time you achieve a target in the specified number of steps, you earn more IQ points. The more target numbers you achieve the more IQ points you obtain.

With support from American Express, ProLiteracy developed a financial literacy education project aimed at assisting low-literate women with money management skills. This support allowed ProLiteracy to revise its Control Your Money book and online courses and resources, which also included the development of a mobile game app.

The game, developed by TangoSquared, is a fun way for students to test their money management skills. Students pick a savings goal and then answer trivia questions about money and money management. For each correct answer, students receive in-game currency, which gets them closer to their savings goal. They have to earn enough currency to reach their savings goal by the end of the level to unlock a new level or savings goal.

You can download the game from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Type “ProLiteracy” in the Membership ID field.

Trivia Crack exploded in popularity a couple years ago as a game in which you compete against friends and strangers. It was the Apple App Store’s most downloaded game in December 2014.

Players take turns answering trivia questions from six categories: Art, Entertainment, Geography, History, Science, and Sports. The objective is to answer as many questions correctly as possible and to collect all six character badges—one to represent each trivia category—before your opponent does.

Trivia Crack Kingdoms takes Trivia Crack a step further with the addition of channels. Channels are categories that can be as general as History or as specific as American Civil War. This allows you to spend time answering questions specific to one topic, like U.S. presidents, for example.

The great thing about Trivia Crack and Trivia Crack Kingdoms is that you can play with strangers or friends, so you could set it up to have a little competition going within your classroom. Some of the questions can be tricky and you only have 20 seconds to answer, so it’s better to try it with higher level students.

The Building a Strong Vocabulary app was developed by ProLiteracy’s publishing division, New Readers Press, as a companion to its three-book Building a Strong Vocabulary series.

Users practice what they learned in each book by matching words with their definitions to improve their vocabulary.

Life Skills includes vocabulary for everyday topics such as education, shopping, and health.

Work Readiness includes vocabulary for job searches, resumes, and unemployment.

Academic Preparation includes vocabulary students will see on science and social studies tests.

The practice for each book is broken down into units with 12 questions. Users must answer 10 questions correctly in each unit to pass. It’s a great way for adult education students to practice vocabulary on the go.

Draw Something is a social drawing game where you and your opponent take turns drawing and guessing doodles. You are given a choice of three words. After choosing a word, you have to draw a picture on your phone that illustrates that word so your opponent can guess it. Once your opponent guesses the word, it’s their turn to choose a word to draw and for you to guess.

Draw Something is a fun way to practice vocabulary, comprehension, and spelling. Not only do players have to read the word they have to draw, but they have to understand the word’s meaning to accurately illustrate it. Guessing also requires understanding vocabulary and allows students to practice spelling to correctly guess the word.

Do you think you will try using mobile games or apps with your adult education students? Are there any others you recommend? Let us know in the comments below.

2 Comments

Appvn
183 days ago

Control money is really a great app and I just loved all the other suggestions. Thanks.